Men appear in court on historic sex abuse charges

THE cases against five men charged with historic sexual abuse in North Wales have been sent to the crown court.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a sixth man who failed to turn up at Flintshire Magistrates Court in Mold.

The hearing follows the Operation Pallial investigation by the National Crime Agency into recent allegations of past abuse in the care system in the region.

The five men face charges of offences against the same man when he was a boy under 16 between 1981 and 1986.

One of them also faces one separate charge against a second boy.

The cases against all defendants were sent to Mold Crown Court for preliminary hearings on Friday, June 20.

Mark Granger, also known as Gary Cooke, 63, from Galway Road, Leicester, is charged with three counts of indecent assault and two counts of serious sexual assault between 1982 and 1986. He faces four charges against one complainant and a fifth against a second boy.

Granger submitted a letter from his doctor to say he was suffering from confusion and was unable to attend court. His lawyers asked that he should attend court in Leicester for the case to be sent to the crown court from there.

But District Judge Gwyn Jones said that was not possible. He was not satisfied with the medical report before him which, he said, was totally inadequate and he issued a warrant for Granger’s arrest.

Former local radio DJ Roy Norry, 54, from Hamilton Road, Connah’s Quay, is charged with four counts of indecent assault, one count of serious sexual assault and one count of an attempted serious sexual assault on the same boy in the Wrexham area between 1982 and 1985.

David Lightfoot, 71, from Parklands View, Little Sutton, Ellesmere Port, is charged with three counts of indecent assault, one count of serious sexual assault and one count of an attempted serious sexual assault on the same boy between 1982 and 1986.

Edward Julian Huxley, 69, from Lower Road, Cookham, Maidenhead, Berkshire, is charged with two counts of indecent assault between 1984 and 1986 on the same complainant.

Neil Phoenix, 62, of Windsor Road, New Broughton, Wrexham, faces one charge of indecent assault against the same boy between 1983 and 1984.

They were all bailed pending their first crown court appearance. Conditions attached to the bail were of residence and not to approach prosecution witnesses.

Another man, Keith Stokes, 61, from Farndon, Chester, but now of The Star Inn at Llangollen, is charged with three counts of indecent assault, three counts of gross indecency, one count of a serious sexual assault and one count of an attempted serious assault.

He had previously been bailed to appear in court yesterday but was sent to the crown court when he appeared before magistrates on Tuesday for breaching his bail.